Chapter 335 - Another Journey

Moving back time a little bit

Two wagons traveling off the main road were heading north.

Each carriage contained a dozen or so men and women of various ages.

And I, Yasu Tomohiro, was in the lead carriage.

It was around noon at the moment.

The sky peeking through the gap in the rear hood looked clear.

However, the expression on the face of the middle-aged woman sitting opposite me was cloudy.

[I wonder if we will make it to Jonato in one piece?]

This may have been the thought of many of the people riding in the wagon.

For a long time, we had been swaying in this carriage.

The number of words everyone exchanged gradually decreased and the time of silence increased.

Was the silence pus.h.i.+ng out the unspoken uneasiness out of the depths of their throat?

However, seemingly as if a dam had been broken, the others broke the silence one by one.

[For Mira to have gone to war with Alion]

[Moreover, I heard that there are areas where the Golden eyes suddenly started roaming around at the same time.]

[The last trader I met said they were flooding in from where the ruins were.]

[I wonder what those eerie crowds of white humans are too I hope they arent some harbinger of bad things to come.]

As they conversed with each other, I just lowered my head, listening to them in silence.

[The Emperor too, when the Golden-eyed monsters and those mysterious white people are appearing in the country, for him to start a war I do feel that he had the desire to protect the people from them but]

The people of Mira have a lot of trust in the Mad Emperor.

Depending on the person You could even call it faith.

However, it isnt as if everyone feels that way about him.

I suppose thats only natural.

Each person has their own diverse values and views.

That is why there are people who are anxious about staying in Mira and are trying to evacuate.

[I wonder what happened back in Mira?]

Their town was attacked by a mysterious group of white people.

Many of those who escaped from the town moved to the Imperial Capital to escape.

However, those who are here

[Dont worry. This is why we decided to evacuate to Jonato. Jonato should be safer than Miras current state. In Jonato, we have relatives to call upon Look, this pa.s.s is perfect for entering the country.]

The owner of the carriage, a middle-aged man, said.

He was a large man with wheat-colored hair and blue eyes.

[What, when that war-like state pa.s.ses, we can just always return to Mira. However, I feel like it would be best if we take refuge somewhere else.]

He was a former mercenary.

The carriage were riding was filled with former and active mercenaries.

They were all from the same town and knew each other.

No, more than half of the people here are from the same town.

A few of the others here, which includes me, were picked up along the way.

Oya? Sonny, are you hurt? Where are you heading to? Hehh To the north huh? Were heading to Jonato now, wanna come?

I tried to refuse once.

But in the end, they had their way and had me ride their carriage.

Thinking about it now, I think this was for the best.

(I want to interact directly with the people of this world Thats why Im traveling Its alright If some incident occurs, I have my Unique Skill]

At night, when we were encamped, I had a hard time sleeping.

Being in this situation reminds me of the Sixth Cavalry.

Fingernails plucked out.

Three severed fingers.

A severed tendon in my arm.

A lost right ear.

Some flesh that was shaved off

When I see them in others, I sometimes have flashbacks of the horror I experienced those days.

Even when I fall asleep, Ive been having nightmares.

However, seeing my state They were concerned about me.

Overflowing with compa.s.sion

Those are nasty eyes youve got there However, its going to be alright. You can trust the people here. You can sleep in peace. Hehe, you need not worry about those Golden eyes attacking. Were here after all.

Saying this, the owner of the carriage flexed his arm.

Incidentally, his wife, son and brother were also in the carriage.

As I looked at the dirt on the floor of the carriage, I pondered.

(I chose to go northbound but I wonder, is this really alright? No, if Sogou-san and the others are going to defeat the Great Demon Emperor, they should be heading north Going northbound would give me a better chance of meeting up with them)

Theres no internet in this world.

No, not just the internet, there arent even TV news programs here.

News gets transmitted through something similar to newspapers, but the information acquired from there isnt new.

(For distant information to be this difficult to acquire)

I have been used to getting distant information in real-time by browsing social media.

However, that isnt something I can access right now.

In this world, I have to be prepared for a time lag in getting information.

Magical war pigeons and carrier pigeons.

Messengers on a fast horse.

Letters

Theres also too much information that cant be normally obtained.

However, perhaps that is why information seems to be more valuable in this world.

(However, I wonder why This inability to constantly fiddle with my phone, as if Im being driven by something makes me feel a little bit comfortable)

Not being able to constantly acquire information makes me feel like Im being left behind by the world.

When Im in this world though, I dont have that strange sense of urgency in me.

(Maybe its because I cant get it even if I want to huh)

With my smartphone connected to the internet, information is something always within reach.

Thats why I always find myself feeling around such information.

When I immerse myself in the internet

The time to think about myself slowly disappears.

The time I spent being swayed by others gradually increased.

At that moment, someone poked me in the arm.

Raising my gaze, I looked at the person who was trying to catch my attention.

[ ? ]

[Big bro, here.]

If Im not mistaken, shes the girl sitting next to the one Im sitting next to.

Shes a girl with round eyes and short twin-tailed hair.

Incidentally, the one Im sitting next to is this girls mother.

The girl bent down a little diagonally in front of me.

With a smile that held no ill will, she offered me shredded pieces of bread.

[Here you go!]

[Eh? Ah I- Im alright, so]

[Please get well.]

[I- I think you should just eat it]

[Hmph.]

The girl looked at her mother with a slightly stumped look on her face.

Seeing her actions, the mother looked towards me though she looked a bit fatigued from the travel- and smiled.

[Ummm Wont you accept it? Doing that would make her happy.]

The mother modestly urged me to take some.

However, theres still some food left that Belzegia had given me.

Besides, the people in this carriage shouldnt be troubled with food yet.

In other words, they still have enough food to share with me.

And yet, this girl is trying to give me her bread.

[Big bro is probably definitely hurt. Thats why Yuuri thinks Big bro should eat a lot and get better. Yuuri will help you.]

The girl said with a smile.

Is Yuuri her name?

Ahh, I guess its like feeding a weak bird huh.

Faced with such goodwill and expectations I felt uncomfortable disregarding it.

And before I knew it, the people in the carriage were looking in our direction with smiles on their faces.

There was no sharpness in the atmosphere directed at me.

Everyone was smiling.

The middle-aged woman seated in front of me also urged me to take it.

I decided to accept the bread.

Then, a little shyly

[T- Thank you for the bread.]

I thought I should eat it right away.

Biting into a piece of bread, I threw it all into my mouth and chewed it.

After swallowing it

[It was delicious.]

[Are you feeling better?]

[U- Unnn.]

[Thats great.]

The girl then cheerfully sat on her mothers lap.

After happily looking at her mothers face, the girl then smiled cheerfully and innocently my way.

Looking a bit proud

The neigh of an agitated horse resounded.

Immediately after, the speed of our carriage was disturbed.

Panicking voices came from the outside.

[I- Its Golden-eyes-!]

An armed man peeked out from the outside of the carriage.

[Rinji-san!]

Our carriage slowed down to a stop

[Tsk Wed still encounter them even if you avoid the roads where these Golden-eyes wander around huh. Oru, how is it like?]

[At a glance There are about a dozen of them! Doesnt seem like there are any big ones at the moment!]

[Alright. Then, lets deal with them here Lets go, boys.]

The owner of the carriage Rinji is the first to stand up and jump out with sword in hand.

Four active and former mercenaries followed him.

Seeing them about to engage in battle, I reflexively tried to follow.

However, the last former mercenary who was about to leave stopped me.

[Whoa there! We appreciate the sentiment but Sonny, youre filled with all those injuries Also, sorry to say this, but you dont look like you can fight that well- What I wanna say is that dont push yourself to do the unreasonable.]

[U- Ummm I am]

A Hero from Another World.

That is what I had intended to say.

However, I found myself not speaking it out.

(Hero? I am? Im a Hero Those people who save people? Thats not it I was a man who misunderstood myself a Hero and became arrogant)

While my words were stuck in my throat, the former mercenary grinned.

[Lets see Then, in case of emergency, Ill leave protecting the carriage to you! Even Yuuri-chan would feel more at ease with Big bro around, right!?]

The man called out to the girl who had given me bread before.

The girl turned around, clinging to her mother, before nodding her head.

[Alright, its decided then! Well leave them to you, Sonny! Leave the outside affairs to us! Rinji-san, in particular, is really strong! Those monsters will be defeated in no time! Hehe Besides, its at times like this that we useless guys who could only eat could work for our food!]

With these words, the man energetically ran out.

Outside, the battle seemed to have already begun.

As for me- I lowered the waist that I raised, sitting back down.

(I am)

With that kind of momentum, being told like that is

I cant say anything more in response.

Even when I was invited to ride this carriage, in the end, I had just let myself be swept away by the momentum.

Perhaps, since back then

(I probably havent changed)

My old vanity has vanished.

The overflowing misunderstanding I had when I arrived in another world

Growing arrogant

I could only feel taken aback about myself.

I probably- no, I definitely went back to how I was before.

Back to how I am right from the very start.

[.]

The girl- Yuuri clutched the fabric of her mothers dress and trembled.

[It will be alright, Yuuri. Come, look up.]

Yuuri looks up and silently looks at her mothers face.

[It would be just like usual, you know? When youre scared Just look at mommys face, okay? Mommy is smiling, right? Thats why- It will be alright?]

What a stout-hearted person.

Even though she was smiling, I could see the mothers shoulders shaking a little.

Seeing her smile though, Yuuris grip on the fabric of her mothers dress loosened a bit.

[Mommy Just like usual?]

[Yes Just like usual. The magic of a smile.]

[Ehehe.]

Yuuri also smiled.

Its like everything but her mother has disappeared from their world.

I could feel that she was very relieved.

I too somehow felt relieved.

And then- I thought.

(Why are these people so kind So people like them in this world they exist)

All the monsters that attacked us were safely exterminated.

Only two of the mercenaries suffered very minor injuries.

Its safe to say that everyone is safe.

After that the two carriages continued heading north.